


A Blurred Line

by Bythia



Series: Just Write: Trope-Bingo 2020 [12]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, Season/Series 03-04 Hiatus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26567056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bythia/pseuds/Bythia
Summary: Tony loved to work undercover and to imerge himself into new roles. But he had never expected that his own life would turn into an undercover operation because their new Director was making questionable decisions and had probably put a spy on his team.
Relationships: Anthony DiNozzo & Jethro Gibbs
Series: Just Write: Trope-Bingo 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1897216
Comments: 5
Kudos: 127
Collections: Just Write! Trope Bingo





	A Blurred Line

**Author's Note:**

> I never much liked the whole Ziva story-line and there happened a lot of questionable things with her. This is one of my interpretations on the set up of season 3.
> 
>  **Disclaimer** : I don't own any of the characters or anything of this world. I just borrowed them to play a little bit, and I don't make money with the stories I borrowed them for. But the words are mine, so please don't copy them to use them as your own.
> 
> Have fun,  
> Bythia

Tony sighed deeply, as he closed the door to the safe house behind him. It had become the only place where he was not eternally tense all the time. Three months had gone by since Gibbs had presumably quit NCIS after losing his memories because of an explosion and every day it became harder for Tony to go back to work. It did not help at all that his own job had become an undercover operation in those weeks.

"I have brought steak and beer!" Tony exclaimed loudly. "I expect you to cook for me!"

"Nothing new, then. I'll be out in the minute." Gibbs' voice came from the workshop, because of cause Gibbs had not accepted a safe house without a place for his woodwork. Though, he was not working on a boat but on toys and wooden games that he would drop of in a youth center and a center that was supporting young mother as soon as he would be able to leave this house again.

Tony put steak and beer in the fridge and let the briefcase he had brought with him drop on the desk in the living room. He laid down on the sofa and closed his eyes. He did not intend to sleep, but to have a little bit of time to relax had become such a novelty. He felt that even his time in the Macaluso Clan had not been as tiring as the last few weeks at the Navy Yard. The only saving grace was that he knew Gibbs still had his back. Even so, the other man was confined to this save house he was only a phone call away, and all of his time was determined by waiting for any call from Tony and dispatching the reinforcement of the FBI on a moment's notice if Tony needed it.

When Gibbs had lost all his memories after being caught in the explosion, Tony had been despaired, not only because it had hurt to see his friend and mentor so hurt and desperate, but also because it had nearly ruined the investigation he and Gibbs had started into the situation at NICS shortly after Tony had spent a day trapped in a container with Ziva. Tony had known that a lot of things with Ziva David and Jenny Shepard were not adding up long before this day, but Gibbs had only started to listen after that day.

For a little while, Tony had resented Gibbs for not listening to him earlier, but he had learned to understand that Ziva had played at his weaknesses. Of course, Tony had known about Kelly and Shannon because he had taken the time to conduct a background check on his gonna be boss before he had come to NCIS. He had not been able to trust easily after Danny and he had hesitated a long time before deciding that he would give NCIS and Gibbs a chance. But Tony had not even thought about the impact that seeing Kate die would have combined with the memories of the death of his wife and daughter, or that Ziva was playing right into the role of the young woman in need of a father figure.

Gibbs had not caught on to that little farce either until Tony had come for a cowboy steak after the case with the container and they had talked about the inconsistencies, not only during that case but during the whole time since Ziva had come into their lives. He had been outraged when he had understood the manipulations Ziva had managed to pull off. Tony had never seen him so hurt and angry before and for a while he had feared it would overwrite any common sense in the older man. It would have done them no good to confront Ziva without any proof and preparation.

So they had started to investigate the situation. It had not been easy to work around anyone else, but after Abby and Tim had been so happy to rub his exclusion in Tony's face, neither Gibbs nor Tony had been sure if they could trust them not to talk to Ziva, even if they did not mean any harm by it. Their investigation had been a slow process, but they had found proof that Ziva had a too high-security clearance in their system thanks to Director Shepard, and there had been hints that she was using it to sent information to Mossad.

When Gibbs had lost his memories, they had had just found the first threats connecting Shepard and Mossad, and for a while, Tony had feared that either Shepard or David was involved in Gibbs getting nearly killed. And while it had been a relief to learn that had only been bad luck, it had thrown their investigation back by weeks, especially after Gibbs had left and Tony had thought to be alone with the problem for two days until he had been contacted by an old friend from the FBI.

Not even Tony had known that Gibbs had not gone to Mexico in those first few days, but to the FBI to relate to them their suspicion that Ziva hat tried to get Tony killed during that case when they had been trapped in the container and the things they had discovered since then. When Tony had become involved in the investigation that Gibbs had started with that act, it had already been a joined investigation by the FBI and Homeland Security because the jurisdiction was not clear cut between the attempted murder of a federal agent and the still vague suspicion of espionage.

Suddenly Tony had found himself amid an undercover operation in what had been his own life only a couple of days earlier. He had only agreed to it all because Gibbs had made it clear he would be his contact and backup while analyzing the information Tony could smuggle out of the Navy Yard. They had made great headway since but it was still not clear what Shepard’s goal was in all of this, and so the operation went on even so they had enough to ship Ziva to Gitmo for her espionage. The powers that be wanted to know why a Director of a federal agency had supported a foreign spy and they wanted to know it before interrogating her.

"Steak's ready."

Groaning Tony turned on his side. He was sure he had just dropped down on the sofa a second ago, but he had to have fallen asleep at least half an hour ago if the steaks were ready.

"You are not getting enough sleep," Gibbs said worriedly.

Tony scoffed. "Of course not. I don't feel safe at home anymore. And how could I after my fucking life turned into an undercover op? This whole situation is so fucked up! And it's getting worse every day at NCIS." He sat up and looked blearily at the plate Gibbs had put in front of him on the low table.

"Tell me about what's going on at the Navy Yard."

Tony sighed because even so he could hear the worry over him in Gibbs' voice, this was still all part of their jobs. He started to cut the steak while he spoke. "Shepard is encouraging McGee's subordination. Balboa and I both heard it and I'm not sure if Balboa won't try to do something about it. I know any complaint will only be stopped by Shepard, but he could search for another way. And I'm not sure how that would impact our op."

Gibbs nodded slowly. "I'll send someone from the Feebs to speak with him. Maybe it would be good to tell him enough so he knows to give you back up if anything goes wrong. I would sleep much better myself if I knew you had back up already inside the Navy Yard. - What did McGee do this time?"

Tony chewed slowly on the piece of steak in his mouth because it would give him time to contemplate his words. "We have a case … and we have a suspect who seems to be guilty judging by the evidence we have. But he is denying anything and … I have a bad feeling about parts of our evidence. Not at least because we haven't found the money yet that was stolen. I asked McGee to go through the financial data another time taking apart every little detail, but he has refused to do it outright, stating we already have all the evidence we need. Half an hour later Balboa and I came up the stairs, both of us from a coffee run, and we hear McGee and Shepard talking on the next flight of stairs. She told him he had every right to refuse an order from me I had given only because I felt inadequate about the amount of my own contributions to the case."

Gibbs huffed. "We already suspected that she is trying to isolate you."

Tony swallowed hard. "She called me to the office later that day. Told me to drop the case and let JAG handle the rest. And then … she told me that she wanted me for an undercover job. She was very good in the way she chose her words, but she basically told me it would be a way to prove my worth to the agency after I was failing so spectacularly as a team leader."

"So, she finally is revealing her motive. What does she want you to do?"

"To seduce René Benoit's daughter, while at the same time maintaining my normal job. She is working in a local hospital and apparently, Shepard has already created a persona for me, a professor for cinematic by the name of Tony DeNardo. I shall use my evenings to seduce her and get information about her daddy. Or get near her daddy, either would be acceptable. - And do you know what the best part is? Aside from running a full-time op besides my full-time job, of course. Shepard would be my only backup and probably the only person in the know."

It was a rare sight to see Gibbs so openly flabbergasted. "That basically scrams to be an unsanctioned op."

"Right?" Tony huffed. "She hasn't gone in too many details, but I don't know why she thinks I would fall for it."

Gibbs looked at him with an unmoving face. "She'll blackmail you into it."

"What?"

"She has created a situation in which she could fire you on a moment's notice. Especially if this case you just spoke about is as fucked up as you fear. And everything you would have to say about her would sound like a scorned ex-employee lashing out with lies."

Tony blinked several times, unable to form any words. He had thought, she wanted to lead him into this op under the impression he could make up for his apparent failure as a team leader because she had made no secret about her displeasure about his performance. And maybe in other circumstances that would have worked after a year of being worn down slowly by their new teammate. He would have never expected her to go the so obvious route of blackmail.

"Do you have a follow-up meeting with her?"

Tony nodded slowly. "Day after tomorrow."

"Good. That means all of this will soon be over. The feebs dropped off a few things for you. You'll need to keep those on your person the next couple of days. It's something you can record your conversations with and I was assured it had enough space on it to record four days straight."

"You playing my personal Q now?"

Gibbs frowned. "That another movie reference?"

Tony laughed softly. "Next time I'm coming here I'll bring my whole Bond box for you!"

"Won't be a next time with a little bit of luck, not in this house at least. René Benoit is not a matter for NCIS, and she knows it. I'm not sure why she is aiming for him, but I'm sure the feebs will be able to get answers for that. If we have her on tape about planing an illegal op against Benoit and blackmailing one of her agents at the same time, it should be enough to finally arrest her and David."

"It will be … you know, we won't be able to keep working for NCIS after this, right?" Tony had been contemplating this thought for weeks now and while the situation at the moment was nearly unbearable, he was sad about the prospect of having to leave. But after leading an op against the current Director, whoever would follow Shepard would never be able to trust them and Tony could not see to work in such an environment.

Gibbs scoffed. "We'll see. We'll be able to find something else. - For now, you need to concentrate on the task at hand. Are you able to do that?"

Tony sighed deeply. "Yes. I won't let you down."

"That's not what I was asking for." Gibbs frowned. "You are exhausted and this is nothing like any other op you have ever been on. I didn't like this idea from the beginning, because all of this is much to close to you personally."

Tony smiled. "I'm thankful for your worry, boss. But I can handle this. I want to see Shapard punished for what she allowed to happen in NCIS."

  
  


  
  


The tech the FBI had dropped for him with Gibbs had turned out to be a miniature microphone and camera in form of a shirt button and a receiver in form of a ballpoint pen. After Tony had left Gibbs, he exchanged one of his buttons on his shirt for the next day and put the pen into the breast pocket of that shirt.

He was nervous, despite the reassurance he had given Gibbs because his boss was not wrong. The situation was wearing him down more than anything he had ever experienced, but it worked in his favor. Because Shepard was expecting him too worn down and exhausted, she and Ziva had worked for that relentlessly in the last couple of months.

The following day was a quiet one. It was Sunday and theoretically, he should have had a free day, but there was still so much paperwork to do because he had to take on most of it from Ziva and McGee, too, that he went into the office regardless. Balboa's team was there, being on call for the weekend and having caught a case, but they left him alone. Just once his gaze met Balboa's and the other man send him a short nod at that time. Tony did not react, but he felt instantly better with knowing that he had someone in this building who knew at least that something was going on, even so, he probably did not know everything.

Monday came much too early for Tony's taste. He had spent a whole of ten hours at home, which had become a novelty, but he had barely found any sleep. His apartment did not feel like home anymore, but like the home of the person, he was playing to be. It was an awful feeling, especially as Tony started to forget who he really was. That had never happened before on an op, not even during his two years in the mob. But then, there he had not gone by his own name, had not lived in his own flat and not gone every day to the job he had once chosen and which had become an op somewhere on the way.

He was so damn tired.

His meeting with Shepard was scheduled for 9 in the morning and it took a great deal of effort not to wait in front of her door for the last half an hour or so. Instead, he went up a couple of minutes late, mentally prepared as if he would go into a fight for his life. He was not sure if he would not face exactly such kind of situation. That he was wearing again a shirt of which one button was the special one he had gotten from Gibbs was no reassurance at all.

He was on his own until this recording would be save in the hands of the FBI. But at least for that delivery, he had already a plan, because two weeks ago the FBI had taken a case from them and they had requested an interview with him to clarify a couple of things.

"Sorry for being late, Director." Tony grinned apologetically. "Got a little too caught up in my paperwork there."

Shepard send him a dark look. "As your team has still a great deal of backlog paperwork to forward I'll forgive your laziness this once. Sit down, Tony. Did you think about my offer?"

Tony wet his lips. "I did. And I have a few concerns about the op, to be earnest. Maybe we could talk about them before I make a decision?"

"Of course." Her tone spoke clearly about her displeasure.

Tony wondered where her friendly demeanor had gone because she had clearly tried to seduce him into this op the last time they had spoken about it. Maybe she had thought that would be enough. "We haven't talked about my back up and the logistics, yet. I'm not sure how you expect me to do my job as the leader of the MCRT and at the same time lead basically a second life. If I pose as a professor, won't I be required to teach?"

"I'm sure you'll manage, Tony. And no, you won't need to teach. Officially Professor DiNardo will be on a sabbatical year and I don't expect you to need more time than that," Sheppard said, and now she was showing the benevolent smile she was wearing most of the time when she spoke to him. "This will be a very quiet operation, and there are only a handful of people who know about it. I will stand as your back up."

Tony frowned. "And if you are in a meeting and therefore unreachable?"

"I won't be unreachable for you."

Tony had to fight hard to hold back a snort because that was hardly doable. "With all respect, Madam Director, but if you are in MTAC you won't even see me calling. And I can imagine there will be other occasions when you won't be able to just interrupt a meeting if I'm calling. I understand that this op is on a need to know basis, but a contact person who can provide me constant back up is not too much to ask for, don't you think?"

"Do you think this is the first undercover operation I'm planning and executing?" Shepard asked irritated. "You are seducing a young doctor, you'll hardly need more back up than I can provide if you are as proficient in your job as your file let me to believe."

Tony swallowed for show because Shepard had to think at this point that he was in a place where every single jab against his abilities would hurt. "Of course, but … My own experience just tells me that it could not be enough. It's never easy to determine when back up is needed even in a seemingly simple operation. And the root of this operation is not simple at all, isn't it?"

"Your job will be to get information about Jeanne's father, not to infiltrate his business. I think that is simple enough," Shepard replied dismissively. "And I'm sure you are capable of that, while still doing your day to day job for this agency. Although your performance there hasn't been too good, I have to say."

Tony sighed deeply. "We are still … hurting from Gibbs' departure. But I think we are slowly getting back on track and our solve rate has barely dropped. Not more than was to be expected after losing a seasoned investigator and gaining a probie for it."

"Do you think you'll be able to grow into the position of team lead?", Shepard asked.

Tony hesitated for a moment. "Yes."

Shepard eyed him thoughtfully. "Not everyone is made to be a leader. If you are uncomfortable with directing your colleagues, we can put you back into the position for the Senior Field Agent and find another leader for the MCRT. I promise you it will not impact on your place or carrier here in NCIS negatively."

Tony dropped his eyes and wrung his hands, providing a picture of insecurity. "I really think I'll be able to grow into it. And what would happen with McGee's promotion, if I went back to SFA?"

Shepard hummed. "You are right, he has done an admirable job, despite his lack of experience. It would be unfair to demote him because of your inability to adapt to change, but I'm sure we would find another team for you."

Tony closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath which was not even part of the play. That was gaslighting of the finest and he knew if he would not have the support in Gibbs and the investigation of the FBI that he had those words would have cut deep after the last few weeks. Because it was all everyone was repeating over and over again to him, that he was just not good enough to take Gibbs' place in the team.

"Of course, I don't see that happen," Shepard continued in a friendly tone. "You'll learn to grow into your new position and in the meantime, you can do something we all know you are good at, right? It shouldn't be any hardship for you to seduce a beautiful young woman."

Tony looked up, smiling wanly. "You are right."

"Good." Shepard nodded. "You should start with this operation as soon as possible. I have done a thorough background check on Jeanne and have her working schedule for the next months here as well as a list of coffee shops and restaurants she likes to frequent after work or in her lunch break."

Tony took the file Shepard was holding up. "How much do we know about her connection to her father? How often do they speak and visit each other? Is she part of his operation or is she just a confidante?"

Shepard shook her head. "As far as I could determine, they are seeing each other two times a year regularly. And if we knew how much she is involved in his machinations, this operation would not be necessary."

"Is there any hint that she actually knows anything?"

"That's for you to determine as well," Shepard said.

Tony looked up from the file abruptly. "So, I'll drag a possibly innocent person into a false relationship?"

"I'm sure she is not innocent at all."

"But you can't know that for sure. I … what will happen if she doesn't know anything?"

Sheppard shrugged. "Tony DiNardo will vanish out of her life like nothing ever has happened."

"That is … not the kind of operation I'm used to," Tony muttered. "I don't infiltrate people's lives when there is no proof of their involvement in any crimes."

Sheppard snorted. "Maybe you misunderstood your job until now. To find those evidence is exactly what this is about."

"Normally it is to find enough evidence to go to court because what we have would not be sufficient," Tony protested.

"So, this time it's different," Shepard said harshly. "That won't impact your ability to do your job, I hope."

"I'm not sure if I can find-"

Shepard interrupted him, "Didn't we just talk about the fact that you value your job and your recent promotion? If you are unable to fulfill such a simple task, maybe it's not the right choice for you to work for a federal agency at all."

Tony blinked flabbergasted. "What … do you mean?" Even though Gibbs had told him she would try to blackmail him and he had tried to lure her into it, he had not expected her to come out with it so easily.

"I think you know very well what I mean," Shepard said. "If you are unable to follow simple instructions on how to conduct your investigations, I'll have to think about the validity of your position in NCIS. And of course, with your current lack of success in fulfilling your job overall, I would not be able to recommend to any other agency in this city to employ you."

Tony wet his lips. "In other words, if I don't do this op I'm out of a job."

"I wouldn't have any choice in the face of your inability to do the tasks asked of you, would I?" Shepard had the gal to smile. "But I'm sure that's not how you want to end your carrier, is it? You were once such a shining star in the police, it is sad you couldn't hold onto this after joining NCIS. This is your chance to get back what you once had."

"Of course," Tony said tonelessly. "It'll take a couple of days to prepare a mindset for Tony DiNardo and iron out his background. But I'm positive I can start pursuing Jeanne at the end of the week."

"I hope I can see progress in this operation shortly. We'll set up a bi-weekly meeting, for now, starting next week."

  
  


  
  


Tony had no idea how he got through the hours following this meeting with Shepard without losing his mind. He made his way to the Hover Building together with McGee to maintain the cover of a clarification for a few details about the case they had to give up, because most of the evidence they had already gather when Fornell had shown up, had been electronically and gathered by McGee. He excused himself to the toilet shortly after the interview had started, but went instead to the evidence room to drop of the pen that held the recording of the morning as well as a copy of the file Shepard had provided him about Jeanne Benoit.

He felt instantly relieved to be rid of it and was afterwards able to concentrate on his actual job. As he had no idea how long it would take the FBI to react or if it would even be enough for them, he spent the evening reviewing the file about Jeanne and preparing the Tony DiNardo persona. He did not plan to have any success with even befriending her, because he really had no interest in pulling a probably innocent person into any of this mess, even if the FBI would insist to continue the operation against Shepard.

The next day started like any other day, with Ziva and McGee coming in late and doing anything but their actual work, while Tony was working hard on catching up with paperwork because they had no active case. It was shortly before anyone would start to think about a lunch break as six FBI agents stepped out of the elevator. Tony saw them because Lee was frowning in their direction, but neither McGee nor Ziva took notice of them until they stopped in front of Ziva's desk.

"How can help you?" Ziva asked irritated.

"Officer Ziva David?" one of the agents asked.

"And you are?"

"Agent Walker. We have a few questions for you. You'll need to accompany us."

Ziva frowned. "I don't think so."

Walker raised his eyebrows. "You don't have a choice in this, Miss David. You can accompany us peacefully or we can arrest you. That's your choice."

Ziva scoffed. "You aren't able to arrest me."

"We have a warrant that says otherwise."

Tony sighed. "Do what you are told to do, Ziva. Just once."

"Tony!" McGee said appalled. "You should help Ziva!"

"Did anyone stop the FBI from arresting me, when they came knocking?" Tony asked scathingly. "I'm sure all of this will be cleared up, but that won't happen if you start a fight, Ziva, that would only make it worse! You won't get away with attacking an agent of another agency." As much as he wanted to see Ziva be put down, he did not want to see any of that happening here in the bullpen. Her arrests would be scandal enough for the next couple of weeks or months.

"You should follow the advice of your boss, Miss David."

Ziva scoffed again. "Tony's not my boss, he is only playing at the role."

Tony's mouth dropped open because he had not expected her to be dumb enough to say something like that so openly. He had heard it often enough in the last couple of weeks, but never when anyone else but McGee, Abby or Lee could have witnessed it. He had no idea why she suddenly thought to get away with this kind of insubordination in front of agents of another agency.

Walker sent him a surprised look and Tony just shrugged. If the agents knew his reports they had to know this was nothing out of the ordinary. But before anyone could say something, Shepard’s voice rang down from the gallery.

"What is the meaning of this, gentlemen?"

Walker was the only one of the FBI agents to turn around to her. "We need to have a talk with Miss David, Director Shepard. And we need to have a talk with you, too."

"You should have made an appointment for that."

Walker smiled coldly. "We brought a warrant for both of you instead."

Shepard paled and the rest of the bullpen had gone eerily quiet.

"You have to be mistaken," Shepard finally said.

"If that should be the case, we can clear that up in the Hover Building," Walker said calmly.

"I'll go and call your Director, Agent Walker!" Shepard replied icily and turned without waiting for any reaction.

"Won't do you any good," Walker muttered, but let her go.

At the same moment Ziva jumped up from her chair, but one of Walker's agents had her on her knees with her hands on her back, before Tony had even turned his head back to her.

"You are under arrest for suspicion of espionage", the man said loud enough for the whole floor to hear him.

It was a little bit anticlimactic to see her be subdued by a single man after she had bragged so extensively about her fighting prowess. But maybe she knew better than to start a fight against six men and Tony could easily imagine that she was convinced all of this would be cleared up by Shepard soon enough because until now Shepard had taken care of every complaint against her from inside of NCIS. Or if not Shepard, than that her Daddy would get her out of the hands of the FBI, but Tony was pretty sure that there would be no deal made with Eli David if he even asked for one.

When McGee stood up abruptly while Ziva was dragged to her feet, Tony looked at him sharply. "Stay down, McGee. One of our own being arrested by the FBI is quite enough, don't you think?"

"You are just letting this happen?"

"There is nothing to be done at this moment!" Tony reminded him. "You won't be of any help to Ziva if you get arrested yourself!" As much as he had learned to resent the younger man who he had once held so much hope for, he did not want him to get into trouble for trying to help Ziva. Maybe there was still a chance for McGee to get a wake-up call and get back on track with his carrier, but he would lose that chance if he attacked another agent.

Ziva was cursing them out in Hebrew while four of the agents brought her to the elevator. Walker and the last agent turned to the stairs to go after Shepard. That would be at least one arrest that would not take place in the middle of the bullpen, but Tony suspected it would be a very ugly scene. Even after the agents where long gone everyone on the whole floor kept silently staring at Tony and McGee until Balboa cleared his throat.

"Okay, Ladies and Gentlemen, back to work! I'm sure we'll all get an explanation soon!"

Tony was pretty sure that the uprising muttering was not filled with anything about any of their cases but solely revolving around the scene that had just unfolded. He braced his elbows on the table and put his face in his hands to hide the relief he could not hold back any longer.

It was like waking up from a nightmare for him, complete with the racing the heart and the conviction to not be able to go back to the things he should be doing at the moment. He wouldn't need to look out for every one of his steps anymore, he wouldn't need to smile anymore in the face of the abuse heaped upon him from his team.

"You all right, Tony?" Balboa asked over the wall separating their workplaces.

Tony looked up and he was sure he could not hide his emotions, but as long as McGee would not seem them it would be alright. "Ye- No, probably not." He closed his eyes. "I think I need a break. Get out of here for a little while."

Balboa nodded. "Let's go grab lunch."

"I'll come with you!" McGee chimed in.

Tony turned his head, face stony. "You will sit down, Agent McGee, and work on the forms that are long overdue!"

"You can't-"

Tony did not give him a chance to end his protest. "You do remember, that I am your superior, right? Do you really think whoever will take Shepard’s place will continue to hold their protective hand over you?"

McGee frowned. "What do you mean, take up her place?"

"Do you really think she will keep her job after being arrested by the FBI?"

"You said yourself that there had to be a mistake!"

Tony snorted. "No one would allow themselves to make a mistake in an investigation against the Director of a federal agency. These agents had a warrant, which means whatever evidence they have convinced a judge, as you should very well know. There is no chance for Shepard to keep her position, regardless of how all of this ends. - So, you should reread our rule book and start remembering those rules again. But do it on your own time!"

McGee opened his mouth, but Balboa interrupted him, "If you value your job, McGee, you should shut your mouth. - Conner, please take the time and educate McGee in the obligations of a real SFA while DiNozzo and I take our lunch break."

Tony was glad that McGee at least heeded the warning of another team lead, or maybe he was just floored by the implication he was not a real SFA. He followed Balboa out of the building and they kept quiet until each of them had a box of take away from the Chinese place around the corner and they sat at a quiet and secluded spot on the Navy Yard to eat.

"I had a very interesting meeting with an FBI agent just yesterday morning before I came to work," Balboa said.

Tony hummed.

"Whatever you did in these last few weeks, I would have helped if you had asked me."

Tony sighed. "Wasn't my decision." He would have been glad to have someone in the know inside of NCIS, but he had understood why those in charge of this operation had hesitated. "You witnessing that discussion between Shepard and McGee changed a few minds."

"A lot of people were very worried about you," Balboa said thoughtfully. "Don't think anyone missed how your team and Sciuto were treating you. Or that every complaint to HR was dismissed out of hand. All of us started to document those very thoroughly after the second week of constant dismissals, just if you need them."

"What?" Tony asked with a full mouth.

Balboa shrugged. "We were preparing to go against Shepard on your behalf. But it's not so easy to determine who would be responsible for investigating her because there is no one in our own agency who isn't reporting to her and to go to someone outside of NCIS could bring any kind of complication with it. I guess we will just give all of it to the FBI now."

"Who exactly is 'we'?"

"All team leads on our floor," Balboa answered. "Some of the guys from security and the Cybercrime unit. They are also using their breaks to do this search for the money that McGee didn't want to do last week. Guess, now you'll be able to make that request officially so they can concentrate more on it."

"I'm…" Tony had no idea, what he should say to any of this.

Balboa huffed. "We aren't turning our back on our own, DiNozzo! It's appealing what's happened to your team in the last year. I still can't believe that Gibbs just fucked off to Mexico in the middle of this!"

"He was injured pretty badly," Tony reminded. "He needed time to heal."

Balboa looked at him for a long moment. "He is not in Mexico."

Tony hesitated before he shrugged. "Gibbs has got my back."

"I really hope you'll someday be able to tell me a little bit more about what's happened in these last few months."

  
  


  
  


Tony had his box of Bond DVDs in his backpack the next time he went to see Gibbs. And as Gibbs had predicted, that visit did not take place in the safe house but in Gibbs' own house five days after Shepard and David had been arrested. Officially Gibbs had returned from Mexico this morning, and Tony half expected to find Abby or McGee with him, even so, Gibbs had not told them that he was back yet.

The last four days had been absolute hell for most of NCIS and Tony knew it would not get better any time soon. In the process of the following investigation into David and Shepard and the overall involvement of the MCRT in their machinations, the whole team had been officially suspended, although for Tony and probably Michelle Lee it would count as extra and paid vacation time of two weeks. Tony was glad about this break and he had already arranged to leave DC on the next day and stay with one of his frat brothers. The FBI would now how to reach them, but they would remain the only ones beside Gibbs.

"Did you already get rid of Abby?" Tony asked after dropping down on the stairs in Gibbs' basement.

Gibbs shook his head. "Wasn't here yet."

"I'm pretty sure she has flagged your name on any flight lists. She'll get here as soon as she gets the notice and will whine about me ruining anything at NCIS. She should not work on the weekend, but I bet she'll manage to look at it remotely."

"I'll set her head right," Gibbs promised.

Tony sighed but did not contradict him. Gibbs would have to learn this lesson on his own, as he had not witnessed the change Abby had gone through in the last months. Tony dreaded the fallout of that situation, but every time he had tried to talk with her, even in these last few days, had been utterly useless. He had no idea what had happened with the once loyal and open-minded woman because it could not only be Kate's loss that had driven her to become this maniac person.

"Where are you going for the next two weeks?" Gibbs asked.

"One of my frat brothers lives near Portland, Main. I'll take the car tomorrow morning and drive up to him. The FBI issued me a phone, so I won't have my regular one with me, because I really don't want to hear from anyone at NCIS."

Gibbs nodded. "You need this break. Still expect you to call me regularly."

Tony grinned. "Of course. - NCIS is a mess, boss. I have no idea how the agency will survive this. I can't even understand why Shepard was arrested so publicly. I had expected she would quietly be retired after Ziva was arrested."

"Politics."

"Yes, but that's exactly the reason why I would have never expected her to be arrested!"

"SecNav is trying to save his own ass, because he signed off on Ziva's placement with our team, too. And he appointed Shepard, which was controversial as well, and not only because she was a woman. I don't see him keeping his job over this."

Tony huffed. "Shepard's arrest makes all of this a much greater scandal. We'll lose a lot of agents because they won't know how to trust in the next Director after this."

"Next in line would have been Vance, but he has connections to Mossad and especially Eli David, too, so he is out as well for that promotion. Not sure who they are contemplating."

Tony laughed. "Maybe you'll be the lucky one!"

Gibbs sent him a baleful look. "They better not even ask!"

"Are you planning to come back?"

"Not sure. How about you?"

Tony sighed. "The next two weeks are just a holiday. I'll stay for at least a couple of months until things have quieted down. We can't … forget our responsibility to the men and women we are supposed to protect over all of this. But … I still think, in the end, I won't be able to stay. The new Director will know that I brought Shepard down, and as justified as that may have been they won't be able to fully trust me. I know and understand that. And the same goes for most of the other agents, except those who were still trying to figure out to whom they could complain about the Director."

"Maybe it won't be as bad as you fear."

"Right. Why are you hesitating to come back?" Tony asked.

Gibbs kept silent for a long while before he answered, "I started to work for NCIS for the wrong reasons and that led to mistakes. I wonder how much of my influence played into Shepard’s corruption."

"Her decisions are not your fault," Tony replied frowning. "It was a long time ago that she was your Probie."

"Morrow plans to offer us a job," Gibbs said. "Don't know much about it, because there are apparently waiting a bunch of NDAs for a signature before we can learn anything. But it would entail to build up an investigative unit. Had a lot of time to think and a little bit of change seems to be a good thing."

"'Us' as in only if we come together, or 'us' in each of us individually?"

"The later. - You remember the rumor about a secret military division formed in the last decade or so?"

Tony sat up straight. "Really?"

Of course, he knew that rumor, although you had to have an ear at the right place to get even a whisper about it. But in the last years, many Marines had been sent to a secret assignment, and as much work as someone had put into keeping it quiet some people had noticed it.

Gibbs shrugged.

"You thinking about following Morrow down that rabbit hole?" Tony asked.

"I'd follow you if you decide to go there because someone needs to have your back. Otherwise, I'll probably retire for real. Maybe I'll ask FLETC if they need an instructor."

Tony stared at him open-mouthed for a long while. "I'll … think about it."

Truth be told, he would probably sign those NDAs only so he could learn what it was all about because his curiosity about the whole thing had been unbearable for years know. To know that Gibbs would be with him would surely make the decision easier if it turned out it would be in any way intriguing.

But he would not wonder about what the future would hold for him for the next two weeks, because he just needed a break from all of this and he had earned it.

** The End **

**Author's Note:**

> Fill for the "Undercover" square of my Bingo Card.
> 
> And BINGO number 3!  
> One more post stamp to go, and one of those stories is already written. I'll get this Blackout in the next 10 days!


End file.
